Segmental coordination and variability of change in direction in long-standing groin pain

Background : Long-standing groin pain (LSGP) is a chronic painful condition resulting in both impaired performance and time loss from participation in multidirectional field sport. Research question : What are the differences in intersegmental coordination strategy and variability of trunk-pelvic and thigh coupling during change of direction in subjects with athletic LSGP and asymptomatic control subjects? Methods : A motion analysis system was used to collect 3-D kinematic data of the continuous relative phase and the variability of the right and left leg hip. Thoracic-thigh segment data were also collected during multiple ipsilateral turns at a self-selected pace from 16 males with LSGP and 16 asymptomatic controls. It is worth mentioning that, for a more detailed analysis, we divided each cycle diagram into four phases. Independent T-tests were used to compare the two groups. Results : Subjects with LSGP demonstrate except in phase 2 of the left foot, more out-of-phase movement with both increased variabilities in right/ left thigh - pelvic coupling, right/ left thigh-thoracic, and pelvic- thoracic in every 4 phases and in the decoupling of segmental coordination. Significance : Decrease in coordination with higher variability is apparent in subjects with LSGP and this aberrant coordination may lead to unexpected compensatory strategies and control impairments.